Composite components are being utilized in a wide variety of articles of manufacture due to their high strength and lightweight. This is particularly true in the field of aircraft manufacturing. Typical materials used in the manufacture of composite components include glass or graphite fibers that are embedded in resins, such as phenolic, epoxy, and bismaleimide resins. The fiber and resin materials may be formed into a desired shape using a variety of different manufacturing systems and processes, and may then be cured (e.g. under elevated pressure and temperature conditions) to produce the desired component.
Although desirable results have been achieved, there is room for improvement. For example, although composite components may provide the desired strength characteristics, under some circumstances, such composite components may fail to provide other desirable properties, including flexibility. Therefore, for some applications, prior art composite components may be unsuitable despite their desirable weight and strength characteristics.